Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology

The Department of Psychological Sciences offers an Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology. This concentration is available for students with good academic records who are interested in careers in social services. Students in this concentration take a set of courses and can arrange to receive academic credit for satisfactory performance in a social service setting under the supervision of professional psychologists and other mental health professionals.

The undergraduate concentration in clinical psychology provides students with background knowledge and limited training in the skills most likely to be needed for employment at the Bachelor degree level in an applied setting. Furthermore, the student is expected to take additional courses in relevant areas from other departments in the university.

The requirements for the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology reflect the goals stated above. All students in the concentration must satisfy the core requirements for the psychology major. In addition, the following courses must also be completed (required courses):

Four other courses relevant to the mental health field from psychology, sociology, anthropology, social work, education, and human ecology. The courses outside of psychology can be applied as general electives. The psychology courses can count as psychology electives.

The laboratory in Clinical Psychology is the pivotal course in the program and should be taken either after completion of or concurrently with Psychological Testing and Basic Concepts in Clinical Psychology. Because of the intensive nature of the skills training provided there, enrollment is restricted to 12-15 students. All students who seek admittance to a Laboratory course must be interviewed by the instructor during the pre-enrollment period for the semester in which the course is to be taken. (Pre-enrollment occurs in April for the Fall semester and November for the Spring semester.) Admission to the Laboratory course is subject to approval of the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology Supervisory Committee.

Following successful completion of the Laboratory course and with the approval of the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology Supervisory Committee, students can gain supervised experience in an applied setting. Arrangements for the field experience will be worked out individually with each student regarding the location of the agency and the total number of academic credit hours to be earned. The field experience is scheduled during the junior or senior years, often during the summer. The grade for this field placement will be determined jointly by the agency supervisor and the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology Supervisory Committee.

In addition to the courses required above (PSYCH-559, PSYCH-585, PSYCH-586) and the field placement, students in the clinical concentration are required to take Abnormal Psychology (PSYCH-505), which is a prerequisite for Basic Concepts in Clinical Psychology, and four additional courses which are relevant to the mental health field. These courses may be selected from a wide variety of departments including Sociology (Criminology, Social Work, etc.), Education (Psychology of the Exceptional Child, Emotionally Disturbed, etc.) and others. These additional courses, which may be taken either prior to or after the field placement, should be selected in consultation with the student's advisor and should be listed on the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology Program of Study. These courses will count as electives toward the 124 hours needed for a B.A. or B.S. degree (120 credit hours for students who entered KSU before the fall of 2003).

Students who are interested in the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology should file the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology Program of Study in the Psychological Sciences Department Office. This in no way obligates the student to the concentration. The purpose of filing a preliminary program of study is to give the Department some basis for planning courses to meet student interests and a list of interested students to contact if there are important announcements.

While the Psychological Sciences Department will make every effort to assist a student in locating a suitable position or in gaining admission to a graduate program after completion of this concentration, the extent and quality of this assistance will be influenced by the student's performance in the formal course work, in the Field Experience, and in other relevant areas, such as research efforts. It should be understood that no guarantees as to employment or graduate school admission following successful completion of the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology can be given.

If you have any interest in the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology, please fill in the Clinical Concentration Application (available online, use your browser's print function to print the page). This does not obligate you to take any courses or to continue in the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology. You can make changes in this program of study as you progress through the curriculum.

Please leave your application in the Psychological Sciences Department Office, Bluemont Hall, Room 492. If you have any questions concerning the Undergraduate Concentration in Clinical Psychology, consult with either Dr. Barnett (barn@ksu.edu) or Dr. Farrand (farrand@ksu.edu).